Ball hitches of the gooseneck type wherein the hitch ball is mounted in the bed of a pick-up truck between the rear wheels of the truck are well known in the art. Examples of such gooseneck hitches are presented in, for example, U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,256,324 to Hamilton; 4,657,274 to Mann et al.; 5,143,393 to Meyer; 5,435,585 to Chambers; and 5,472,222 to Marcy. The primary goal of these designs is to provide as much of the gooseneck hitch assembly as possible beneath the bed of the pick-up truck. Necessarily, the hitch balls themselves are all removable or retractable so that when the hitch is not in use, the hitch ball may be removed or retracted so as not to obstruct the bed of the pick-up truck in any significant manner.
With primary emphasis placed on storing/removing these hitch assemblies so as to avoid obstructions within the truck bed, hitch assemblies have generally overlooked the importance of placement of maintenance fittings and typically only include such fittings in inconvenient locations, such as under the bed of the truck. Of course, a lubrication fitting under the bed of a truck is so inconvenient as to often go unutilized. This neglect often results in damage to the mechanism over time. Accordingly, a need is therefore also identified for a gooseneck hitch assembly that may be easily and conveniently lubricated so as to maintain the moving parts of the hitch ball pivotal connection in peak operating condition at all times.
In addition, little if any attention has been provided to the placement of the numerous differing embodiments of safety anchors associated with such ball hitches or to the additional utilitarian value possibly provided by such anchors. For example, U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,143,393 to Meyer and 5,571,270 to Larkin both disclose safety anchors specifically designed not to obstruct the bed of the pick-up truck in any significant manner. Accordingly each set of safety anchors are placed towards the rear of the hitch assembly. Unfortunately, however, this positioning allows the safety chains to bind under certain operating conditions such as when maneuvering and negotiating tight turns. Therefore, a need is identified for properly placing the safety anchors to avoid binding of the safety chains during difficult and tight maneuvering.
Further, ball hitches of the gooseneck type described above, wherein the ball hitch is pivotally mounted to a frame or housing, are typically difficult to operate with one hand. For example, U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,540,194 to Dane and 5,755,452 to Tambornino each disclose pivotal hitch balls having a locking pin that extends through the shank of the ball hitch and engages the frame or housing for securing the ball hitch in a towing position. Accordingly, an operator must grasp and raise the security door portion of the housing that encloses the ball hitch in the stowed position with one hand and simultaneously pull the release mechanism/finger loop with a second hand in order to stow the ball hitch. Clearly, this two step two handed operation can be cumbersome if not difficult in situations where the locking mechanism sticks or binds or when two operators or both hands are not available. Accordingly, a clear need is identified for a ball hitch assembly including a pivotally mounted ball hitch having a quick release single hand operable release means for releasing the hitch ball for movement from a towing position to a stowed position.